The Burning Beauty of the Magic Valley

When I was a boy my dad shared an old adage. “Smoke follows a fool!” We were at a neighbor’s camp and the little kids (I was once young) were playing around the bonfire. He didn’t want us getting too close. This was just after he and some buddies had been tossing M-80s and cherry bombs into a stream.

Over the weekend I saw smoke and instead decided to follow it instead of it following me. I was on the Jerome side of the canyon when I saw the huge plume south of Twin Falls.

The worst of the massive plume was over and I saw what looked like a controlled burn.

With our news team away for Easter I decided I should fill the void. A shame I didn’t have a compass. By the time I crossed the bridge and about ten miles south of Twin Falls I believe I found the source. I say, believe, as I can’t be sure. The worst of the massive plume was over and I saw what looked like a controlled burn.

The soot devil was impressive, though. It blew across the field and then simply collapsed over the road. I tracked the smoke by site and then smell because I had no compass. It made for a great drive on a spring day in rural Idaho. God loves this land.